Wilhelm Wik 1897-1987

Wilhelm Ludwig Wik was born in Bastad, southern Sweden on 25th September 1897. He was a Swedish artist.

Wik studied at the Carl Wilhelmson (1866-1928) painting school in Stockholm before attending the Westminster Art School in London for a year (in 1924). Wik then moved to Paris were he attended Académie de la Grande Chaumière and, between 1930 and 1932, studied under the French sculptor, painter and writer André Lhote (1885-1962). It was during his time with André Lhote that Wik met, and in 1932 married, the artist (and fellow student) Laila Prytz (1907-1982)

Wik travelled widely. In the early 1920’s undertook several trips to France and Spain. During the 1930’s he travelled to Egypt, East Africa, India and Japan.

Solo exhibitions include Malmö (1929), Södertälje (1951), at Galleri Gummesons in Stockholm (1955) - Gummesons Gallery is one Scandinavia's foremost contemporary art galleries. Launched in 1912 by Carl Gummeson, a local book dealer, it quickly forged a reputation for supporting Modern Art. Galerie Librairie Saint Germain, Paris (1964) and Lorensbergs art salon, Gothenburg (1965).

Wik exhibited alongside his wife (Laila Prytz) in Jönköping (1955) and Constance (1958). Group exhibitions include the Swedish Public Art Association salons (1933 and 1934) and with the Swedish Artists association (Svenska konstnärernas förening) in Stockholm.

Examples of Wik’s work are held in the collections of the Nationalmuseum (National Museum) and the Moderna Museet (Museum of Modern Art) in Stockholm, and the Institut Tessin (also known as the Centre Culturel Suédois) which is a museum in Paris dedicated to the history of Franco-Swedish artistic exchanges.

Wilhelm Wik died in 1987, aged 90.